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Preserve rights, stave off fascism

The rise of fascism in the U.S. is an alarming trend. With the infusion of corporate money into politics, and Citizens United, which gives personhood to corporations, corporate interests have taken over the majority of our representatives. There are thousands of lobbyists in Washington with millions of dollars to spend to further private interests.

As a result, we have seen the destruction of democracy and the rise of plutocracy — rule of the wealthy. For the most part, it doesn’t matter who gets elected to office because it costs so much money to buy a seat in Congress. The cure is to get money out of politics.

The second facet of fascism is a hyper-nationalism, which demonizes anyone who doesn’t agree with the policies of the government controlled by private interests.

News media such as Fox News are in the business of promoting fear, which is a powerful motivator. Thinking is bypassed if people can be persuaded to be afraid of others. Eventually the government turns against its citizens and the constitutional right of assembly is destroyed. This was seen patently in Ferguson, Mo., with the police at war with citizens they are supposed to protect.

People think that as long as they are in the mainstream, there is nothing to fear, but eventually any sign of dissent is suspect. We have to protect the rights of those who peacefully disagree with us.